TAVARES, Fla. — One of suspended Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez’s co-defendants in an illegal gambling operation case was arrested by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday night.
Sheldon K. Wetherholt, 38, has been charged with racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering, and has since bonded out from the Lake County Jail.
Conditions of Wetherholt’s release included turning over any firearms, though he told a judge he does not own any guns, and a requirement to wear a GPS monitor.
His next court date was set for July 7.
In all, five people, including Lopez and Wetherholt, were charged in the case.
Two others — Carol Cote and Sharon Fedrick — both bonded out last week.
The fifth co-dependent, Ying Zhang, is also facing charges, but has not been arrested.
Federal criminal defense attorney Andrew Searle, who is not connected to the case, has had experience with similar racketeering cases and says with multiple defendants, it can be a challenge to defend.
“You can allege numerous acts over a lengthy period of time, even things that the individual defendants themselves are not a part of,” he said. “With public figures and the media coverage, it is going to be challenging for the defense attorneys to make sure that the individuals get a fair trial. That’s why it is important to remind everybody that these are just accusations at this point, nothing more.”
Searle adds that he expects the case to take a long time.
“I think that this case is going to take a lengthy period of time before it’s in a trial posture, especially in this state court system where defense attorneys have the ability to depose witnesses,” he said. “So that process in and of itself can take several months or even years, in some cases, if there are numerous witnesses.”
Lopez was expected to face a judge on Wednesday for a bond reduction hearing and a request to remove the GPS monitoring condition of his release, but the hearing was canceled.
He remains in custody in Lake County on racketeering charges tied to an alleged illegal gambling operation. His bond is set at $1 million.